Complaints from frustrated customers were mounting at a major US retailer. More than 20% said they could not find the company’s branded products in shops because items were out of stock. The problem was that efforts to improve service disrupted the company’s low-cost distribution model.

Buyout firms are pursuing large public companies at their fastest pace, with deals totaling $180 billion last year, according to Bain & Company. Graham Elton, a partner with Bain, said the big question troubling the industry is “when does the music stop”?

According to Bain & Company, despite rising global demand, 34 of the world’s 50 biggest consumer companies are suffering either from slower sales and profits growth, or both. “Companies will need to fundamentally revisit their way of working and transform themselves,” says Matthew Meacham, a

Sometimes the largest companies lead an industry, but in many cases, the leaders that create exceptional value don't rely on scale alone. They use other skills to move into pole position. Large scale still provides a powerful competitive beneﬁt, no doubt. A recent Bain & Co.